Novartis will acquire Massachusetts-based Mariana Oncology, picking up a pipeline of novel radioligand therapies to treat cancers with high unmet need.
The deal includes a portfolio of radiopharma programs spanning lead optimization to early development across a range of solid tumor indications such as breast, prostate and lung cancer. Standout candidate, MC-339, is an actinium-based therapy being investigated in small cell lung cancer.
Per the deal, Novartis will make an upfront payment of $1 billion and an additional $750 million in payments upon completion of pre-specified milestones.
Novartis already has two approved radiopharma drugs, Pluvicto and Lutathera. Lutathera was approved in 2018 to treat gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). The therapy recently won a pediatric approval in somatostatin receptor-positive GEP-NETs. Pluvicto was approved in 2022 for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
The Mariana buy coincides with Novartis' continued investment in its pipeline, as the industry's interest in the radiopharma space surges on. Just last week, Novartis expanded its peptide discovery collaboration with PeptiDream. Per the expanded agreement, which was first inked in 2010, Japan-based PeptiDream will use its proprietary Peptide Discovery Platform System technology to identify and optimize novel macrocyclic peptides against targets selected by Novartis, for potential conjugation to radionuclides or other applications.
